Suvarnabhumi ‘dreadlock drug smuggler’ sentenced to 15 years

A Bangkok court yesterday sentenced South African “dreadlock drug smuggler” Nolubabalo “Babsie” Nobanda to 15 years in jail for smuggling 1.5kg into Thailand hidden in her dreadlocks.

“Initially, she was given a 30-year sentence but that term was reduced because she was co-operative with the authorities. They reduced the jail sentence by half,” said South Africa’s International Relations spokesman Clayson Mony, according to the Cape Times.

Nobanda was arrested at the Bangkok International Airport in December for trying to smuggle cocaine from Brazil to Thailand.

Police found 1.5kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of $150,000 in her dreadlocks.

She admitted to smuggling the drugs and said she had been hired to deliver the cocaine to a customer at a hotel in Bangkok.